I've been suffering from severe migraine with aura for a couple of decades. I went through ALL the standard phamaceutical treatments with only minimal success. I've become a bit of an expert in migraine treatment from all of this.

About 6 years ago, after running out of treatment options, at the recommendation of my doctor I went to a specialist and was given a cannabis recommendation. I briefly tried cannabis with great success. I quickly switched to prescription THC (Marinol) for work-related reasons. It also works, but not nearly as well.

What I've noticed over this time is that treating an active migraine with THC is an iffy thing. Sometimes it makes it go away and other times it amplifies it. The problem is that THC can dilate blood vessels, which is one of the things causing the headache.

I found that if I used cannabis at the very beginning, during the prodrome ( the early phase where you start noticing neurological changes) or ealy aura phase, it would make it go away. Also, after the migraine had peaked. But if I used it when the pain and light/sound sensitivities are really getting going, it might make it worst. Although it always reduced my severe nausea.

Since I'm using Marinol, which is very slow acting, I can't catch the migraine before it developes.

Instead, I use it as a preventative. Very small amounts on a regular basis keep me from getting migraines. It's been a real miracle for me. But I think individual responses to this vary a lot. In my case, I have severe cervical disc degeneration, which causes muscle spasms and nerve pain. These seem to be one of my migraine triggers. Cannabis is suppose to work very well for this type of spasticity and neuropathic pain, so maybe that's why it works for me.


Also, the type of cannabis may be important. I know that I was given a variety that exhibited mostly Indica traits - it was breed especially for migraine - and it seemed to work better for acute treatment of migraines than my Marinol does. I guess, for me, pure THC is not the best thing for acute migraines. Also, Marinol seems to induce a lot of anxiety in me, something I didn't notice with the real stuff.

GW Phamaceuticals, which has Sativex whole cannabis spray out in Canada and the UK, is researching a migraine version. I hope they get it out soon! Supposably, the USA is looking at making Sativex legal here.